I was in a similar situation to you, dream. I chose to downgrade my car and purchase an investment unit. I now drive a boring yet cheap and reliable lancer and have a unit that's appreciating in value and earning me ~$70/week more than my minimum payments. When I own in 5 years or so I'll buy another nice car but until then I want to do some travelling

 

Well my renting situation isn't that bad. I'm living with some friends of mine who own the house and they only charge me $300 for rent. I just really like the idea of fewer bills. If I were to buy a house now I think that I would be stretching myself to thin.

 

$300/mo rent sounds like a good deal to me. I would sit on your situation for now, keep the payments up on your S, and plan to purchase a house when your life is 100% stable in terms of job, woman, etc. Two incomes contributing to a mortgage/loan is a lot better than one

 

agreed....a house becomes more of a liability when you are younge...especially if you are struggling to make payments and also depending on your housing market...

 

I would not recommend this strategy in an environment of a market of increasing interest rates. The fed has hinted (see the last few days stock market plunge on the news) that rate hikes will continue. If rates are stable sure, but why finance with a low 3 yr arm only to find that rates have gone way up a few years from now and if the house should, god forbid, decline in value, you're screwed.

Short term money is also not always cheaper than long term. Inverse yeild curves have been known to happen. We were very close for a time last summer. They don't happen often, but they do occur.


My advice is a house (that is a good investment) will almost always apreciate and is one of the safest places to put money. Cars are nearly always the opposite unless you have Ferrari money.

 

a house is only a good investment if you spending all your money from month to month just to get into the house...IMHO you are better off trying to save as much money as possible and get your retirement savings as well as reserve savings stable and then get a house...but thats just my opinion...that is only my opinion bcs i live in a place where a single family home goes for almost 300k which is way too much for a 23 yr old single guy to be paying...plus it sounds like you have a good living situation...but again dont know your personal situation so it is hard to offer good advice...

 

Well I have had my 401k going at work for the past seven years and started my Whole Life insurance last month with State Farm, which acts as a long-term investment.

 

i would suggest breaking down your retirement...and finding out how much you need to invest each month/year to meet your goals...then find out wht type of house payment fits into that goal...and then if you feel that you can make that work then go for it...if not then i would hold off..